Amy recently got a 300 on her cholesterol (it's genetic) and has been taking some proactive measures to bring it down through exercise and diet (with meds being the last recourse). Next week is her birthday and I'd like to make her some Crab Rangoon - one of her favorite junk foods that she gave up for her health - can anyone give me some ideas either through substitution, or even complete overhaul, as to how I can create this as tasty as possible but with as little cholesterol.

That's a tough one, Joe. You could probably get away from deep-frying them by going with filo or something like that and then baking. It would be different, but probably pretty good. The toughest part would be the cream cheese, though. There are substitutes out there - nonfat cream cheese, tofutti, farmer's cheese-type things made with skim milk - but I don't know that any of them would be very good in something like that.

I'd be tempted to make the full-fat version, have that be the evening's indulgence, and then go with low-cholesterol stuff for the rest of the meal.

Tofutti or some other low-fat substitute with the same texture as cream cheese was what I was thinking of, as well. And use peanut oil or some other highly unsaturated oil for the deep-frying, and drain them well.

Or, as Mike suggests, just do the original recipe and have it be the evening's one indulgence.

JoePerry wrote:Amy recently got a 300 on her cholesterol (it's genetic) and has been taking some proactive measures to bring it down through exercise and diet (with meds being the last recourse).

hi joe, i`m reading and studing (diets for old people) since a few years,

i beleve (came to the point):

- colesterol, is genetic and the level is absolutly personal (somelike hair )
- so there is not a human-normal-point! that we should have.
- because the human body has the ability to make his own colesterol, there is no chance to bring it down to a "i-want-level" consistently!
(yes, for a short time, it works)
- what can be done is to get a better LDL (badly-c) to HDL (good-c) ratio.

the best "not !" diet, because it`s ment to all-life-eating-habit (were you can outbreak and eat "not racomended" things and quantities , if you always come back and eat as suggested )
is called LOGI, it dos bring in balance on one hand the GI (glycemic-Index) and on the other hand the GL (glycemic-burden )

I've found most patients who diet and exercise "fall off of the wagon" if they don't get an occasional splurge. I never see the weekly splurge change their overall cholesterol profile to any meaningful degree. I also rarely see a person with a 300 cholesterol bring it under control with just diet and exercise.

Mike Filigenzi (Sacto) wrote:That's a tough one, Joe. You could probably get away from deep-frying them by going with filo or something like that and then baking. It would be different, but probably pretty good. The toughest part would be the cream cheese, though. There are substitutes out there - nonfat cream cheese, tofutti, farmer's cheese-type things made with skim milk - but I don't know that any of them would be very good in something like that.

I'd be tempted to make the full-fat version, have that be the evening's indulgence, and then go with low-cholesterol stuff for the rest of the meal.

With luck, though, someone else here will come up with a good idea.

Mike

I was thinking Filo as well, but beyond that I was lost. Thanks for the ideas for filling substitutes. Paul Winalski also mentioned Tofutti - does that stand up to heat?

We could just indulge as you and Randy suggested, but this is more about me supporting her decision and showing how I will help. It's as much symbolic as it is a treat.

Randy Buckner wrote:I've found most patients who diet and exercise "fall off of the wagon" if they don't get an occasional splurge. I never see the weekly splurge change their overall cholesterol profile to any meaningful degree. I also rarely see a person with a 300 cholesterol bring it under control with just diet and exercise.

She also needs to have a CRP drawn if see has not already done so.

Randy, Amy is doing a weekly splurge, but this is more about me showing support for her (as I told Mike). When Amy was six, her Cholesterol was 375, and a few years ago it was down to 245, so it has been brought down before. I agree about the meds, but Amy wants to have children someday and is concerned about the lack of longitudinal studies. She is going to try being really proactive for six months and get tested again and reconsider meds.

C-reactive protein -- determined by a blood test. It is another way to look at cholesterol risk. People with a high CRP and a normal cholesterol have an elevated risk of an adverse coronary event. People with a moderately elevated cholesterol and normal CRP don't have that much of a risk. People with high cholesterol and a high CRP are a ticking time bomb. They need to have their total cholesterol driven down to the 150 level with a statin drug such as Crestor. With Amy's history, I'd strongly recommend getting a CRP drawn.

Mike Filigenzi (Sacto) wrote:That's a tough one, Joe. You could probably get away from deep-frying them by going with filo or something like that and then baking. It would be different, but probably pretty good. The toughest part would be the cream cheese, though. There are substitutes out there - nonfat cream cheese, tofutti, farmer's cheese-type things made with skim milk - but I don't know that any of them would be very good in something like that.

I'd be tempted to make the full-fat version, have that be the evening's indulgence, and then go with low-cholesterol stuff for the rest of the meal.

With luck, though, someone else here will come up with a good idea.

Mike

I was thinking Filo as well, but beyond that I was lost. Thanks for the ideas for filling substitutes. Paul Winalski also mentioned Tofutti - does that stand up to heat?

We could just indulge as you and Randy suggested, but this is more about me supporting her decision and showing how I will help. It's as much symbolic as it is a treat.

Best,Joe

Understandable. The support is important.

I've never tried Tofutti myself. My wife, being from Wisconsin, would have to divorce me if I did. From what I can tell, though, their "Better Than Cream Cheese" gets pretty good reviews. It might be worth a try.

Joe, you're so sweet to do this for Amy. I agree with everybody else, that your choices are not frying, or reducing the fat in the cheese component. Or both, though that might be so drastic as to make the dish not satisfying of the craving Amy has for this food. Perhaps not frying might make more difference to Amy than the not using cream cheese?

Toward that end, what about subbing ricotta for the cream cheese? You'd need to add more salt (or fish sauce, to add complexity too) to compensate for the slightly sweet flavor, but Italians use this part-skim cheese in deep fried preps all the time, and it's grainy texture might disappear somewhat into the crabmeat.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

Joe,
Be aware that total cholesterol level can be misleading; it may be high because of elevated HDL "good" cholesterol, LDL "bad" cholesterol, triglycerides, or some combination of these, all with different significance. Happy to talk with you or Amy about it if these levels haven't been done and explained.
Charles.